KR20180122040A - Reception device and reception method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a transmitting apparatus, a transmitting method, a receiving apparatus, and a receiving method that can improve the accessibility to a visually impaired person. An electronic program information generating unit for generating electronic program information including the speech utterance meta data; a display unit for displaying the display information There is provided a transmitting apparatus including a transmitting unit that transmits electronic program information to a receiving apparatus capable of displaying the electronic program information. This technique can be applied to, for example, a transmitter capable of transmitting a digital broadcast signal.

Description

{RECEPTION DEVICE AND RECEPTION METHOD}

The present invention relates to a transmitting apparatus, a transmitting method, a receiving apparatus, and a receiving method, and more particularly, to a transmitting apparatus, a transmitting method, a receiving apparatus, and a receiving method capable of improving the accessibility to a visually impaired person.

In the field of digital broadcasting, there is a demand for accessibility to the visually impaired (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Particularly in the United States, the so-called US 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) was enacted and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) The regulations on the excellence of the

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-204711

However, when presenting a user interface (UI) such as program information to a visually impaired person, text information such as program information is read aloud in a TTS (Text To Speech) engine, .

However, with the TTS engine, it can not be concluded that the text information is read aloud as intended by the creator of the program information, etc., and there is no guarantee that the visually impaired can obtain the same information as a normal person. Therefore, there has been a demand for a technique for making it possible for the visually impaired to obtain information equivalent to that of a normal person by making speech as intended by the creator without fail.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is intended to make it possible to improve the excellence of the visually handicapped by surely making the utterance as intended by the manufacturer.

The transmitting apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a meta data generating unit for generating meta data on a speech uttered by a producer with respect to display information and electronic program information for generating electronic program information including the meta data And a transmitting unit for transmitting the electronic program information to a receiving apparatus capable of displaying the display information.

The meta data may include information about a character string whose reading is not determined in one way, or information about a character string whose pronunciation is difficult.

The display information may include information on the content or an icon.

And a content acquiring unit that acquires the content, and the transmitting unit may transmit the electronic program information together with the content in a digital broadcast signal.

The electronic program information conforms to an Electronic Service Guide (ESG) defined by OMA-BCAST (Open Mobile Alliance - Mobile Broadcast Services Enabler Suite), and the metadata is described in SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) The address information indicating the acquisition destination of the metadata file described in the SSML format or the contents of the metadata described in the SSML format itself may be included in a predetermined fragment constituting the ESG.

The transmitting apparatus may be an independent apparatus or an inner block constituting one apparatus.

The transmission method according to the first aspect of the present technology is a transmission method corresponding to the transmission device according to the first aspect of the present invention described above.

In the transmitting apparatus and the transmitting method according to the first aspect of the present invention, metadata relating to a speech utterance intended by a manufacturer for display information is generated, electronic program information including the metadata is generated, The electronic program information is transmitted to a receiving apparatus capable of displaying information.

A receiving apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives electronic program information transmitted from a transmitting apparatus and that contains meta data related to speech uttered by a manufacturer on the display information; And a voice reading unit for reading the display information aloud based on the meta data.

The meta data may include information about a character string whose reading is not determined in one way, or information about a character string whose pronunciation is difficult.

The display information may include information on the content or an icon.

The receiving unit may receive, as a digital broadcast signal, the electronic program information transmitted together with the content.

Wherein the electronic program information is in conformity with an ESG defined by OMA-BCAST, the metadata is described in an SSML format, and in a predetermined fragment constituting the ESG, the acquisition destination of the metadata file described in the SSML format Or the contents of the metadata described in the SSML format, and the metadata acquiring section acquires the file of the metadata in accordance with the address information, or acquires the file of the meta data from the fragment Data can be acquired.

The receiving apparatus may be an independent apparatus or an internal block constituting one apparatus.

The receiving method according to the second aspect of the present technology is a receiving method corresponding to the receiving device according to the second aspect of the present technique described above.

In the receiving apparatus and the receiving method according to the second aspect of the present invention, electronic program information including meta data about a speech intended by a manufacturer for display information transmitted from a transmitting apparatus is received, The metadata included in the program information is acquired, and the display information is read aloud based on the metadata.

According to the first aspect and the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the accessibility to a visually impaired person.

Further, the effects described herein are not necessarily limited, and any of the effects described in the present disclosure may be used.

1 is a diagram showing an example of reading program information and titles out loud.
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of reading an icon aloud.
3 is a view for explaining an example of reading text information by a conventional TTS engine.
4 is a diagram for explaining an example of reading text information by a conventional TTS engine.
5 is a view for explaining an example of reading text information by a TTS engine to which the present technology is applied.
6 is a diagram for explaining an example of reading text information by the TTS engine to which the present technology is applied.
7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a broadcasting system to which the present technology is applied.
8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a transmission apparatus to which the present technology is applied.
9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a reception apparatus to which the present technology is applied.
10 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the ESG.
11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a service fragment of an ESG.
12 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a content fragment of an ESG.
13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an extended ESG.
14 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the extended ESG.
15 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the PhoneticInfoURI element.
16 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the PhoneticInfo element.
17 is a diagram showing an example of description of a sub element in the SSML format.
18 is a diagram showing an example of description of a phoneme element in the SSML format.
19 is a diagram showing an example of description of an audio element in the SSML format.
20 is a flowchart for explaining transmission processing.
21 is a flowchart for explaining the reception processing.
22 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings. The description will be made in the following order.

1. Outline of speech spoken metadata of this technology

2. Configuration of the system

3. Placement of speech utterance metadata by extension of ESG

4. Description example of speech utterance metadata

5. Flow of processing executed on each device

6. Variations

7. Computer Configuration

<1. Outline of speech spoken metadata of this technology>

(FCC 13-138) released October 31, 2013. CFR Title 47 §79.107, 108) of the Federal Communications Commission Regulations relating to the US Accessibility Act, It is required that the user interface of the receiver capable of displaying the video program of the present invention be accessible to the visually handicapped.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, when a screen (ESG screen) of an electronic service guide (ESG) is displayed, for example, by reading a title or program information, To provide information necessary for selecting a broadcast program.

As shown in Fig. 2, when a menu screen is displayed, for example, by reading the contents of the service with respect to an icon indicating various services, contents of the service can be provided to the visually impaired have.

In this manner, by visually reading information about the user interface displayed on the receiver, the blind person can obtain information on the user interface and perform various operations on the receiver.

Channel information or program information for selecting a broadcast program (program) is provided as ESG information to a receiver from a transmitter such as a broadcasting station, but this ESG information mainly includes text information, logo data, and the like. Then, based on the ESG information, the receiver generates and displays an ESG screen for selecting a broadcast program.

As described above, when the ESG screen is displayed, the user interface is required to be accessible to the visually impaired. For example, titles and program information are read out aloud. Here, Text information such as information is generally read aloud by a TTS (Text To Speech) engine. This TTS engine is a speech synthesizer (Text To Speech Synthesizer) capable of artificially generating human speech from text information.

However, the TTS engine does not guarantee that text information is read aloud as intended by the user of the user interface, and there is no guarantee that the visually impaired can obtain the same information as a normal person.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, since the text information "AAA" can be read as "triple A" or "AAA", the reading method is not determined as one, , It is impossible to judge how to read aloud, and as a result, there is a possibility that the text information may not be read aloud as intended by the author.

Further, as shown in Fig. 4, for example, since the text information of " Caius College " is a proper noun with difficulty in pronunciation, etc., the TTS engine can not determine how to read out aloud, There is a possibility that the text information may not be read aloud as it is.

As described above, in the case where the method of reading text information is not determined to be one, or in the case of a proper noun with difficult pronunciation, etc., there is a possibility that the text information may not be read aloud as intended by the maker. So that the visually impaired can obtain information equivalent to that of a normal person.

Therefore, in the present technology, in order to surely carry out speech utterance as intended by the maker of the display information such as the user interface, information about speech utterance intended by the maker (hereinafter, &quot; speech utterance metadata &quot; ) To the TTS engine so that the TTS engine can speak the intended audio of the producer. In addition, the speech utterance metadata can be provided in the ESG information.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, "triple A" indicating the method of reading the voice is provided to the TTS engine as voice utterance meta data for the text information "AAA" The TTS engine can read aloud "triple A" based on the speech utterance metadata.

3, when the text information of "AAA" is input, the TTS engine can not determine which of the "triple A" and "AAA" is aloud to read out. In FIG. 5, By inputting " triple A " as the voice utterance metadata, the TTS engine can read out " triple A " in accordance with the voice utterance metadata, so that the voice intended by the producer is uttered.

As shown in FIG. 6, for example, with respect to the text information "Caius College", by providing the phoneme information to the TTS engine as the speech utterance meta data, the TTS engine outputs the speech utterance metadata Based on this, you can read aloud as "keys college".

In other words, in FIG. 4, when the text information "Caius College" is input, the TTS engine can not determine how to read out aloud because it is a proper noun with difficulty in pronunciation. In FIG. 6, By inputting the phoneme information as the voice utterance metadata, the TTS engine can read out "keys college" in accordance with the voice utterance meta data, so that the voice intended by the author is uttered.

Thus, by providing the speech utterance metadata to the TTS engine, even if the method of reading the text information is not determined to be one, or if it is a proper noun with difficult pronunciation, etc., Is read aloud, so that a visually impaired person can obtain the same information as a normal person.

<2. System Configuration>

(Configuration Example of Broadcasting System)

7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a broadcasting system to which the present technology is applied.

The broadcasting system 1 is a system capable of providing content such as a broadcast program and externally displaying information such as a user interface to the visually impaired. The broadcasting system 1 is composed of a transmitting apparatus 10 and a receiving apparatus 20.

The transmitting apparatus 10 is operated, for example, by a broadcasting station that provides terrestrial digital broadcasting service. The transmitting apparatus 10 transmits a content such as a broadcasting program by using a digital broadcasting signal. Further, the transmitting apparatus 10 generates ESG information including the voice utterance meta data, and transmits the ESG information in the digital broadcasting signal.

The receiving apparatus 20 is constituted by, for example, a television receiver or a set-top box, and is installed in each home or the like of the user. The receiving apparatus 20 receives a digital broadcasting signal transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 10, and outputs a video or audio of a content such as a broadcasting program.

In addition, the receiving apparatus 20 has a TTS engine and, when displaying display information such as a user interface, reads out display information such as a user interface on the basis of the speech utterance meta data included in the ESG information.

Here, since the TTS engine reads the display information such as the text information aloud according to the speech utterance meta data, for example, when the method of reading the text information is not determined as one, or when it is a proper noun with difficult pronunciation It is surely read aloud as the author intended.

Although only one transmitting apparatus 10 is shown in the broadcasting system 1 of Fig. 7, the transmitting apparatus 10 is actually provided for each of a plurality of broadcasting stations. Similarly, although only one receiving apparatus 20 is shown in the broadcasting system 1 of Fig. 7, the receiving apparatus 20 is actually provided for each household of a plurality of users.

(Configuration Example of Transmitting Apparatus)

8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the transmitting apparatus in Fig.

8, the transmission apparatus 10 includes a content acquisition unit 111, a speech utterance metadata generation unit 112, an ESG information generation unit 113, a stream generation unit 114, and a transmission unit 115 do.

The content acquisition unit 111 acquires a content such as a broadcast program and supplies the acquired content to the stream generation unit 114. [ Further, the content acquisition unit 111 can execute, for example, encode and format conversion processing on the content.

As the content, for example, the corresponding content is acquired from the storage place of the already recorded content according to the broadcasting time zone, or the live content is acquired from the studio or the location.

The speech utterance meta data generation unit 112 generates speech utterance meta data according to an instruction from the manufacturer of the user interface, for example, and supplies it to the ESG information generation unit 113. [ As the speech utterance meta data, for example, when the method of reading text information is not determined in one way, the phonemic information is generated in the case of the information indicating the reading method of the voice, or in the case of a proper noun with difficult pronunciation.

Here, as the speech utterance meta data stored in the ESG information, there are two types, that is, the description of the address information for acquiring the speech utterance meta data and the description of the contents of the speech utterance meta data itself. When the address information is described in the speech utterance meta data, the contents of the speech utterance meta data are described in a file (hereinafter referred to as "speech utterance metadata file") acquired in accordance with the address information .

That is, the speech utterance meta data generation unit 112 generates speech utterance meta data including address information, and supplies the speech utterance meta data to the ESG information generation unit 113, And supplies the generated file to the stream generating unit 114. On the other hand, when the speech utterance metadata includes the contents, the speech utterance metadata generation unit 112 does not need to generate the speech utterance meta data file. Therefore, only the speech utterance meta data is transmitted to the ESG information generation unit 113).

The ESG information generating unit 113 generates ESG information as channel information for selecting a content such as a broadcast program. The ESG information generation unit 113 stores (arranges) the speech spoken meta data supplied from the speech spoken meta data generation unit 112 in the ESG information. The ESG information generation unit 113 supplies the ESG information including the speech utterance meta data to the stream generation unit 114. [

The stream generating unit 114 generates a stream conforming to a predetermined standard based on the content data supplied from the content acquiring unit 111 and the ESG information supplied from the ESG information generating unit 113, .

When the speech utterance meta data included in the ESG information supplied from the ESG information generation section 113 includes address information, the stream generation section 114 receives speech speech data from the speech utterance metadata generation section 112 A metadata file is supplied. In this case, the stream generating unit 114 generates content data supplied from the content acquiring unit 111, a speech utterance meta data file supplied from the speech utterance meta data generating unit 112, Based on the supplied ESG information, a stream conforming to a predetermined standard is generated.

The transmitting unit 115 performs processing such as digital modulation on the stream supplied from the stream generating unit 114 and transmits it as a digital broadcasting signal through the antenna 116. [

In the transmitting apparatus 10 of Fig. 8, not all of the functional blocks need be arranged in a single device, and at least some functional blocks may be configured as devices independent of other functional blocks. For example, the speech utterance metadata generation unit 112 or the ESG information generation unit 113 may be provided as a function of a server on the Internet. In this case, the transmitting apparatus 10 acquires and processes the speech utterance meta data and the ESG information provided from the server.

(Configuration example of receiving apparatus)

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the reception apparatus of FIG.

9, the receiving apparatus 20 includes a receiving unit 212, a stream separating unit 213, a reproducing unit 214, a display unit 215, a speaker 216, an ESG information obtaining unit 217, A data acquisition unit 218, and a TTS engine 219.

The receiver 212 demodulates the digital broadcast signal received by the antenna 211, and supplies the stream obtained by the demultiplexing to the stream separator 213.

The stream separating unit 213 separates the content data and the ESG information from the stream supplied from the receiving unit 212 and supplies the ESG information to the playback unit 214 and the ESG information respectively to the ESG information acquisition unit 217 .

The playback unit 214 displays the video of the content on the display unit 215 and outputs the audio of the content from the speaker 216 based on the content data supplied from the stream separation unit 213. [ Thereby, the content such as a broadcast program is reproduced.

The ESG information acquisition unit 217 acquires the ESG information supplied from the stream separation unit 213. [ The ESG information acquisition unit 217 supplies the ESG information to the playback unit 214 when, for example, a user instructs display of the ESG screen. The playback unit 214 generates an ESG screen based on the ESG information supplied from the ESG information acquisition unit 217, and causes the display unit 215 to display the ESG screen.

The ESG information acquisition unit 217 supplies the speech spoken meta data included in the ESG information to the speech spoken meta data acquisition unit 218. [ The speech utterance meta data acquisition unit 218 acquires speech utterance meta data supplied from the ESG information acquisition unit 217. [

Here, two kinds of the speech utterance meta data, that is, the description of the address information for obtaining the speech utterance meta data and the description of the contents of the speech utterance meta data, are as described above.

That is, when address information is included in the speech utterance meta data, the speech utterance meta data acquisition section 218 acquires, from the stream separated by the stream separation section 213, speech speech metadata And supplies the speech utterance metadata including the content obtained there to the TTS engine 219. [ On the other hand, when the speech utterance metadata includes the contents, the speech utterance metadata acquisition unit 218 supplies the speech utterance metadata to the TTS engine 219 as it is.

The TTS engine 219 reads out display information such as a user interface and outputs the voice from the speaker 216 based on the voice utterance meta data supplied from the voice utterance meta data acquiring section 218. [

Here, for example, in the case where the ESG screen is displayed on the display unit 215, in order to enable the visually impaired to access the title, program information, etc., The TTS engine 219 causes the text information to be read aloud as intended by the manufacturer in accordance with the speech utterance meta data. This makes it possible for the blind person to obtain information equivalent to that of a normal person.

9 shows a configuration in which the display unit 215 and the speaker 216 are provided inside the display device 215 and the speaker 216 may be provided as external devices You can.

<3. Placement of speech utterance metadata by ESG extension>

Next, the details of the ESG information in which the speech utterance meta data is stored will be described. The ESG (Electronic Service Guide) is specified by OMA (Open Mobile Alliance), which is an organization for the specification of a cellular phone. ESG information in which voice spoken metadata is stored is also OMA-BCAST (OMA- Mobile Broadcast Services Enabler Suite (ESG).

(Structure of ESG)

10 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the ESG. In Fig. 10, each line connecting the fragments means a cross-reference in each connected fragments.

In Fig. 10, the ESG is composed of fragments having respective purposes, and according to the purpose of use, the ESG is divided into four sections including Administrative, Provisioning, Core, and Access. Group.

The ad ministrative is a group that provides basic information that can receive ESG information. A group of ad ministries consists of a ServiceGuideDeliveryDescriptor. The service guide delivery descriptor provides information on a channel capable of receiving a plurality of service guide fragments, scheduling information on the channel, and updated information to the receiving apparatus 20. [ Thereby, the receiving apparatus 20 can receive only necessary ESG information at an appropriate time.

Provisioning is a group for providing charge information on service reception. The group of provisioning is made up of Purchase Item, Purchase Data, and Purchase Channel. The purchase item provides charge information for the service or service bundle. The purchase data provides information on how the user can pay the fee. The purchase channel provides information about the system in which the user can actually purchase the service.

In addition, the fragments of the purchase item, the purchase data, and the purchase channel can store the speech utterance meta data or the address information indicating the acquisition destination thereof. A method of storing speech utterance metadata in each fragment of the purchase item, purchase data, and purchase channel will be described later with reference to FIG.

A core is a group that provides information about the service itself. A group of cores consists of a Service, a Schedule, and a Content. The service provides metadata including the content of the channel service and the associated control information. The schedule provides metadata that includes the content distribution schedule and associated control information. The content provides metadata including the content of the content constituting the service and the associated control information.

The fragments of the service and the contents can store the speech utterance meta data or the address information indicating the acquisition destination. FIG. 11 shows a configuration example of a service fragment, and FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of a content fragment. A method of storing speech utterance metadata in each fragment of a service and contents will be described later with reference to Fig.

The access is a group that provides specific information regarding service access information indicating how to receive the service of the core group and the session in which the content that constitutes the service is transmitted and allows the receiving device 20 to access the service do. The group of access consists of an Access, and a Session Description.

The access in the access group provides a method of accessing some additional services based on one service, by providing the receiving device 20 with a plurality of access methods for one service. The session description provides session information about a service transmitted by a service access defined by one Access Fragment.

In addition to the above-mentioned four groups, there are preview data (Preview Data) and interactive data (Interactivity Data). The preview data provides previews and icons for services and contents. The interactivity data provides metadata about the application about the service or the content.

In addition, the preview data fragment (Preview Data Fragment) may store the speech utterance metadata or the address information indicating the acquisition destination. A method of storing speech utterance metadata in a preview data fragment will be described later with reference to Fig.

(Example of Extended ESG Configuration)

13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an ESG extended to store speech utterance meta data or address information indicating the acquisition destination of the speech utterance meta data. In addition, the ESG extension shown in FIG. 13 includes a Service Fragment, a Content Fragment, a Purchase Item Fragment, a Purchase Data Fragment, and a Purchase Data Fragment among the fragments constituting the ESG, And purchase channel fragments (Purchase Channel).

That is, since the Name element and the Description element are included in these fragments, extension for adding the PhoneticInfoURI element or the PhoneticInfo element to the Name element and the Description element is performed. A PhoneticInfoURI element or PhoneticInfo element may be added to the PrivateExt element of these fragments.

In Fig. 13, the Name element specifies the name of the content fragment. The Name element contains the PhoneticInfoURI element, the PhoneticInfo element, and the Type attribute as child elements.

In the PhoneticInfoURI element, address information for obtaining speech utterance metadata is specified. The Type attribute is used as a pair with the PhoneticInfoURI element, and type information indicating the type of speech utterance metadata is specified.

As this address information, for example, a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) is designated. Further, for example, when the speech utterance metadata file is transmitted in a FLUTE (Session Initiation Protocol) session, address information for acquiring the speech utterance metadata file transmitted in the FLUTE session is specified. The speech utterance metadata can be described by SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language), which is a speech synthesis markup language.

The PhoneticInfo element describes the contents of the speech utterance metadata itself. For example, the contents of this speech utterance metadata are described in SSML. The Type attribute is used as a pair with the PhoneticInfo element, and type information indicating the type of speech utterance metadata is specified.

In Fig. 13, when "1.N" is specified, one or more elements or attributes are specified. When "0.N" is specified, the element or attribute Whether or not to specify an attribute of 1 or more is arbitrary. When " 0..1 " is specified, whether or not the element or attribute is specified is arbitrary.

Therefore, the PhoneticInfoURI element, the PhoneticInfo element, and the Type attribute, which are the child elements of the Name element, are optional elements or attributes, and the PhoneticInfoURI element and the PhoneticInfo element have not only one element but also both elements .

13, the Description element includes a PhoneticInfoURI element, a PhoneticInfo element, and a Type attribute as child elements. That is, the child element of the Description element is the same as the child element of the above-mentioned Name element.

Specifically, in the PhoneticInfoURI element, address information for obtaining speech utterance metadata is specified. The Type attribute is used as a pair with the PhoneticInfoURI element, and type information indicating the type of speech utterance metadata is specified. The PhoneticInfo element also describes the contents of the speech utterance metadata itself. The Type attribute is used as a pair with the PhoneticInfo element, and type information indicating the type of speech utterance metadata is specified.

In addition, either one of the elements may be placed in the PhoneticInfoURI element and the PhoneticInfo element, which are the child elements of the Description element, or both of the elements may be arranged.

14 is a view showing another example of the structure of the ESG extended to store the speech utterance meta data or the address information indicating the acquisition destination. In addition, in the extension of the ESG shown in Fig. 14, a preview data fragment (Preview Data Fragment) among the respective fragments constituting the ESG is targeted.

In other words, since the preview data fragment includes the Picture element, the extension for adding the PhoneticInfoURI element or the PhoneticInfo element to the relativePreference attribute is performed. In addition, the PhoneticInfoURI element or the PhoneticInfo element may be added to the PrivateExt element of the preview data fragment.

In Fig. 14, previews and icons for services and contents are defined in the Picture element. The Picture element includes a PhoneticInfoURI element, a PhoneticInfo element, and a Type attribute as child elements. That is, the child element of the Picture element is the same as the child element of the Name element or the Description element described above.

Specifically, in the PhoneticInfoURI element, address information for obtaining speech utterance metadata is specified. The Type attribute is used as a pair with the PhoneticInfoURI element, and type information indicating the type of speech utterance metadata is specified. The PhoneticInfo element also describes the contents of the speech utterance metadata itself. The Type attribute is used as a pair with the PhoneticInfo element, and type information indicating the type of speech utterance metadata is specified.

Either one of the elements may be placed in the PhoneticInfoURI element and the PhoneticInfo element which are the child elements of the Picture element, or both of the elements may be arranged.

(Configuration of the PhoneticInfoURI element)

15 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the PhoneticInfo URI element in the extended ESG.

In Fig. 15, the PhoneticInfoURI element is described as a name element or a description element such as a service fragment, or a child element of a picture element of a preview data fragment. In the PhoneticInfoURI element, address information for obtaining speech utterance metadata is specified.

In addition, as the type attribute of the PhoneticInfoURI element, an identification URI of the encoding format of the speech utterance metadata is specified.

For example, since the speech utterance metadata file is transmitted in the FLUTE session, the PhoneticInfoURI element describes the address information for acquiring the speech utterance metadata file transmitted in the FLUTE session.

(Configuration of PhoneticInfo element)

16 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the PhoneticInfo element in the extended ESG.

In Fig. 16, the PhoneticInfo element is described as a name element or a Description element such as a service fragment, or a child element of a picture element of a preview data fragment. The PhoneticInfo element describes the contents of the speech utterance metadata itself.

In addition, as the type attribute of the PhoneticInfo element, an identification URI of the encoding format of the speech utterance metadata is specified.

For example, the contents of the speech utterance metadata are described in SSML, which is a speech synthesis markup language, and are accommodated as text information between the start tag and the end tag of the PhoneticInfo element.

Further, at least one element of the PhoneticInfoURI element and the PhoneticInfo element is described in the fragment of the object of the extended ESG. In addition, the speech utterance metadata is sometimes referred to as a &quot; PhoneticInfo object &quot; because it is specified by a PhoneticInfoURI element or a PhoneticInfo element.

<4. Description example of speech utterance metadata>

As described above, the speech utterance metadata can be described, for example, in SSML which is a speech synthesis markup language. This SSML is recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for the purpose of enabling higher quality speech synthesis functions. By using SSML, elements necessary for voice synthesis such as pronunciation, volume, and state can be controlled in a delicately and appropriately manner. 17 to 19 illustrate description examples of an SSML format document.

(sub element)

17 is a diagram showing an example of description of a sub element in the SSML format.

The sub element is used to replace text information with other text information. The alias attribute specifies text information for speech utterance. For example, in Fig. 17, the text information of " W3C " is converted into text information for speech utterance " World Wide Web Consortium "

By using this sub element, for example, when the method of reading text information is not determined in one way, it becomes possible to designate information indicating how to read the voice.

(phoneme element)

18 is a diagram showing an example of description of a phoneme element in the SSML format.

The phoneme element is used to give phonetic / phonetic pronunciation to the textual information described. The phoneme element can specify the alphabet and ph attributes. The alphabet property specifies phonetic / phonetic pronunciation characters. The ph attribute specifies a string of phonemes / voices. For example, in Fig. 18, a reading method of text information "La vita e bella" is designated by the ph attribute. In addition, " ipa " designated by the alphabet attribute corresponds to a reading symbol of an international phonetic alphabet (IPA).

By using this phoneme element, it becomes possible to designate the phoneme information or the like in the case where the pronunciation is an intricate proper noun, for example.

(audio element)

19 is a diagram showing an example of description of an audio element in the SSML format.

The audio element is used to output a built-in voice or synthesized voice of a voice file. The audio element can specify the src attribute. The src attribute specifies the URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) of the voice file. For example, in FIG. 19, text information of "What city do you want to fly from?" Is read aloud by playing back a voice file "prompt.au" specified by the src attribute.

By using this audio element, for example, reproduction of a recorded audio file becomes possible, and audio information as intended by the user of the user interface can be provided to the visually impaired.

The sub element, phoneme element, and audio element described above are examples of methods of describing speech utterance metadata using the SSML format, and other elements or attributes of the SSML format may be used. Further, the speech utterance metadata may be described in a markup language other than the SSML format.

<5. The flow of processing executed in each device>

Next, the flow of processing executed in the transmitting apparatus 10 and the receiving apparatus 20 constituting the broadcasting system 1 of Fig. 7 will be described.

(Transmission processing)

First, with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 20, the flow of transmission processing executed by the transmission apparatus 10 of Fig. 7 will be described.

In step S111, the content acquisition unit 111 acquires a content such as a broadcast program and supplies the acquired content to the stream generation unit 114. [

In step S112, the speech utterance meta data generation unit 112 generates speech utterance meta data according to an instruction from the manufacturer of the user interface, for example, and supplies it to the ESG information generation unit 113. [

When generating the speech utterance meta data including the address information and supplying the generated speech utterance meta data to the ESG information generation unit 113, the speech utterance meta data generation unit 112 generates the speech utterance meta data, which is acquired in accordance with the address information, And supplies it to the stream generating unit 114. [

In step S113, the ESG information generation unit 113 generates ESG information based on the speech utterance meta data supplied from the speech utterance meta data generation unit 112, and supplies the ESG information to the stream generation unit 114. [

In step S114, the stream generating unit 114 generates a stream conforming to a predetermined standard, based on the content data supplied from the content acquiring unit 111 and the ESG information supplied from the ESG information generating unit 113 And supplies it to the transmission unit 115.

When the speech utterance meta data included in the ESG information supplied from the ESG information generation unit 113 includes address information, the stream generation unit 114 generates the speech utterance meta data in addition to the content data and the ESG information Based on the speech utterance metadata file supplied from the speech recognition unit 112, supplies the generated stream to the transmission unit 115. [

In step S115, the transmission unit 115 performs processing such as digital modulation on the stream supplied from the stream generation unit 114, and transmits the stream as a digital broadcast signal through the antenna 116. [

The transmission processing has been described above. In this transmission processing, speech utterance meta data on speech uttered by a maker with respect to display information such as a user interface is generated, ESG information including speech utterance meta data is generated, and the speech utterance meta data ESG information including data is transmitted.

As a result, on the receiving apparatus 20 side, the TTS engine 219 reads the display information aloud on the basis of the speech utterance meta data. For example, when the reading method of the text information is not determined as one, The text information is read out aloud as the author intends, even if it is an intricate proper noun or the like. As a result, the visually impaired can obtain the same information as the normal person.

(Reception processing)

Next, the flow of the reception processing executed by the reception apparatus 20 of Fig. 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig.

In step S211, the receiving section 212 receives the digital broadcast signal transmitted from the transmitting apparatus 10 via the antenna 211. [ The receiver 212 demodulates the digital broadcast signal, and supplies the stream obtained by the demodulation to the stream demultiplexer 213.

In step S212, the stream separating unit 213 separates the content data and the ESG information from the stream supplied from the receiving unit 212, and sends the content data to the reproducing unit 214 and the ESG information to the ESG information obtaining unit 217 Respectively.

In step S213, the ESG information acquisition unit 217 acquires the ESG information supplied from the stream separation unit 213. [ The ESG information acquisition unit 217 supplies the ESG information to the playback unit 214 when, for example, a user instructs display of the ESG screen. The ESG information acquisition unit 217 supplies the speech spoken meta data included in the ESG information to the speech spoken meta data acquisition unit 218. [

In step S214, the playback unit 214 generates an ESG screen based on the ESG information supplied from the ESG information acquisition unit 217, and causes the display unit 215 to display the ESG screen.

In step S215, the speech utterance meta data acquisition unit 218 acquires the speech utterance meta data supplied from the ESG information acquisition unit 217. [

Here, the speech utterance meta data acquisition unit 218 acquires, from the stream separated by the stream separation unit 213, based on the address information, the speech utterance metadata file And supplies the speech utterance metadata including the content obtained there to the TTS engine 219. [ On the other hand, when the speech utterance metadata includes the contents, the speech utterance metadata acquisition unit 218 supplies the speech utterance metadata to the TTS engine 219 as it is.

In step S216, the TTS engine 219 reads out display information such as a user interface and the like on the basis of the speech utterance meta data supplied from the speech utterance meta data acquiring section 218, .

Here, in the process of step S214, when the ESG screen is displayed on the display unit 215, when the title, program information, and the like are read aloud to enable the visually impaired to be accessible, The TTS engine 219 causes the text information to be read aloud as the author intends, according to the speech utterance metadata.

The reception processing has been described above. In this reception processing, the ESG information including the speech utterance meta data concerning the utterance of speech intended by the manufacturer to the display information transmitted from the transmission apparatus 10 is received, and the speech utterance metadata And display information such as a user interface is read aloud based on the speech utterance meta data.

Thus, in the TTS engine 219, the display information is read out aloud based on the speech utterance meta data. Thus, for example, when the method of reading text information is not determined in one way, Text information is read aloud as the author intended. As a result, the visually impaired can obtain the same information as the normal person.

<6. Modifications>

In the above description, when address information is included in the speech utterance meta data, the speech utterance meta data file transmitted in the FLUTE session is acquired in accordance with the address information. However, It may be distributed from the server. In this case, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or the like of the server is designated as the address information.

In the above description, the ESG specified by OMA-BCAST is described as the electronic program information. However, the present technology can be applied to, for example, EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and other electronic program information. Electronic program information such as ESG information may be distributed from a server on the Internet and received by the receiving apparatus 20. [

<7. Computer Configuration>

The series of processes described above may be executed by hardware or by software. When a series of processes are executed by software, the programs constituting the software are installed in the computer. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of computer hardware that executes the above-described series of processes by a program.

In the computer 900, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903 are connected to each other by a bus 904. An input / output interface 905 is also connected to the bus 904. An input unit 906, an output unit 907, a recording unit 908, a communication unit 909, and a drive 910 are connected to the input / output interface 905.

The input unit 906 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and the like. The output unit 907 includes a display, a speaker, and the like. The recording unit 908 includes a hard disk, a nonvolatile memory, and the like. The communication unit 909 includes a network interface and the like. The drive 910 drives a removable medium 911 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory.

In the computer 900 configured as described above, the CPU 901 loads the program stored in the ROM 902 or the recording unit 908 into the RAM 903 via the input / output interface 905 and the bus 904, The above-described series of processes is performed.

The program executed by the computer 900 (the CPU 901) can be recorded on the removable medium 911, for example, as a package medium or the like and provided. The program may be provided through a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, digital satellite broadcasting, or the like.

In the computer 900, the program can be installed in the recording unit 908 via the input / output interface 905 by mounting the removable medium 911 on the drive 910. [ The program can be received by the communication unit 909 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the recording unit 908. [ In addition, the program can be installed in the ROM 902 or the recording unit 908 in advance.

Here, in this specification, the processing that the computer performs in accordance with the program does not necessarily have to be performed in time series according to the procedure described as the flowchart. That is, the processing that the computer performs in accordance with the program includes processing that is executed in parallel or individually (for example, parallel processing or processing by object). The program may be processed by one computer (processor), or may be distributed by a plurality of computers.

The embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Further, the present technology can take the following configuration.

(One)

A meta data generation unit for generating meta data on a speech utterance intended by the manufacturer for the display information,

An electronic program information generating unit for generating electronic program information including the metadata;

And a transmitting unit for transmitting the electronic program information to a receiving apparatus capable of displaying the display information

And a transmitting unit.

(2)

The meta data includes information about a character string whose reading is not determined in one way, or information about a character string whose pronunciation is difficult

(1).

(3)

The display information includes information on the content, or an icon

(1) or (2).

(4)

Further comprising a content acquiring unit that acquires the content,

Wherein the transmitter transmits the electronic program information together with the content as a digital broadcast signal

(3).

(5)

The electronic program information conforms to an Electronic Service Guide (ESG) defined by OMA-BCAST (Open Mobile Alliance - Mobile Broadcast Services Enabler Suite)

The metadata is described in SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) format,

The address information indicating the acquisition destination of the metadata file described in the SSML format or the content itself of the metadata described in the SSML format is included in a predetermined fragment constituting the ESG

The transmission apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4).

(6)

A transmitting method of a transmitting apparatus,

The transmitting apparatus comprising:

Generates meta data on a speech utterance intended by the manufacturer for the display information,

Generating electronic program information including the metadata,

And transmits the electronic program information to a receiving apparatus capable of displaying the display information

A transmission method comprising a step.

(7)

A receiving unit for receiving electronic program information transmitted from a transmitting apparatus, the electronic program information including meta data relating to a speech uttered by a manufacturer on display information;

A metadata acquisition unit for acquiring the metadata included in the electronic program information;

Based on the metadata, a voice reading unit

And a receiving unit.

(8)

The meta data includes information about a character string whose reading is not determined in one way, or information about a character string whose pronunciation is difficult

(7).

(9)

The display information includes information on the content, or an icon

(7) or (8).

(10)

Wherein the receiving unit receives, as a digital broadcast signal, the electronic program information transmitted together with the content

(9).

(11)

The electronic program information is based on an ESG defined by OMA-BCAST,

The metadata is described in an SSML format,

The address information indicating the acquisition destination of the metadata file described in the SSML format or the content itself of the metadata described in the SSML format is included in a predetermined fragment constituting the ESG,

Wherein the metadata acquisition unit acquires the file of the metadata in accordance with the address information or acquires the metadata from the fragment

The receiving apparatus according to any one of (7) to (10).

(12)

A receiving method of a receiving apparatus,

The receiving apparatus comprising:

Receiving electronic program information transmitted from a transmitting apparatus, the electronic program information including meta data concerning a speech utterance intended by the manufacturer for the display information,

Acquiring the metadata included in the electronic program information,

Based on the metadata, reading the display information aloud

A receiving method comprising a step.

1: broadcasting system
10: Transmitter
20: Receiver
111:
112: Voice spoken metadata generation unit
113: ESG information generation unit
114:
115:
212: Receiver
213:
214:
215:
216: Speaker
217: ESG information acquisition unit
218: voice speech metadata acquisition unit
219: TTS engine
900: Computer
901: CPU

Claims (6)

A receiving unit for receiving electronic program information transmitted from a transmitting apparatus, the electronic program information including meta data relating to a speech uttered by a manufacturer on display information;
A process of acquiring the metadata included in the electronic program information and a process of controlling the process of reading the display information aloud based on the metadata,
Wherein the display information includes information on a content or an icon,
And the control unit reads out the contents of the service corresponding to the icon on the basis of the metadata. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the meta data includes information about a character string whose reading method is not determined in one way or an ignition of a proper noun. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the receiving unit receives the electronic program information transmitted together with the content as a digital broadcast signal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electronic program information includes address information indicating a location where the file of the meta data is to be acquired or contents of the meta data itself,
Wherein the control unit controls processing of acquiring the file of the metadata or acquiring the metadata from the electronic program information in accordance with the address information. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein a URL of a server on the Internet is specified in the address information. A receiving method of a receiving apparatus,
The receiving apparatus comprising:
Receiving electronic program information transmitted from a transmitting apparatus, the electronic program information including meta data related to a speech uttered by a manufacturer with respect to display information;
A step of acquiring the metadata included in the electronic program information and a step of reading out the display information aloud based on the metadata,
Wherein the display information includes information on a content or an icon,
And the controlling step includes a step of reading out the contents of the service corresponding to the icon on the basis of the metadata.

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